Twinkies maker Hostess has plenty of suitors

A Hostess Twinkies sign is shown at the Utah Hostess plant in Ogden, Utah, in this Nov. 15, 2012 file photo. Hostess Brands Inc. says it's in talks with more than 100 parties interested in buying its brands, which include Twinkies, Ding Dongs and Ho Hos. Associated Press file

NEW YORK -- The future of Twinkies is virtually assured.

Hostess
Brands Inc. said Thursday that it's in talks with 110 potential buyers
for its iconic brands, which also include CupCakes, Ding Dongs and Ho
Hos. The suitors now include at least five national retailers such as
supermarkets, a financial adviser for the company said in bankruptcy
court. The process has been "so fast and furious" Hostess hasn't been
able to make the calls seeking buyers it previously intended, said
Joshua Scherer of Perella Weinberg Partners.

"Not only are these buyers serious, but they are expecting to spend substantial sums," he said.

The
update on the sale of the company's brands comes as Hostess seeks
approval in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York
in White Plains, N.Y. to give its top executives bonuses totaling up to
$1.8 million as part of its wind-down plans. The company says the
incentive pay is needed to retain the 19 corporate officers and
"high-level managers" during the liquidation process, which could take
about a year.

Two of those executives would be eligible for
additional rewards depending on how efficiently they carry out the
liquidation. The bonuses would be in addition to their regular pay. A
spokesman for Hostess noted executives will need to meet certain goals
to get the bonuses.

The bonuses do not include pay for CEO Gregory
Rayburn, who was brought on as a restructuring expert earlier this
year. Rayburn is being paid $125,000 a month.

Hostess is also
seeking final approval for its wind-down, which was approved on an
interim basis last week. But the bakers union, Hostess' second-largest
union, is asking the judge to appoint an independent trustee to oversee
the liquidation, saying that the current management "has been woefully
unsuccessful in its reorganization attempts."

The wind-down
process includes the quick sale of Hostess brands, which also include
Devil Dogs, Donettes and Wonder Bread. Hostess had already said last
week that it was getting a flood of interest from potential buyers. The
company has stressed that a quick sale is necessary to capitalize on the
outpouring of nostalgia sparked by the company's liquidation.

"The
longer these brands are off the shelves, the less they're going to be
valued," Scherer said in a court Thursday. Last week, he had noted that
it was a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" for buyers to snap up iconic
brands without the burden of debt and costly labor contracts that would
come with the purchase of Hostess as a company. Although Hostess sales
have been declining over the years, they still come in at between $2.3
billion and $2.4 billion a year.

The company's shuttering means
loss of about 18,000 jobs. Hostess said it will need about 3,200
employees as it begins the wind down process, including 237 employees at
the corporate level.

In court Thursday, an attorney for Hostess
noted that the company is no longer able to pay retiree benefits, which
come to about $1.1 million a month. Hostess stopped contributing to its
union pension plans more than a year ago.

The company's demise
came after years of management turmoil, with workers saying the company
failed to invest in updating its products. In January, Hostess filed for
its second Chapter 11 bankruptcy in less than a decade, citing steep
costs associated with its unionized work force.

Although Hostess
was able to reach a new contract agreement with its largest union, the
Teamsters, the bakers union rejected the terms and went on strike Nov.
9. A week later, Hostess announced its plans to liquidate, saying the
strike crippled its ability to maintain normal production.

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